The present invention relates to costume jewelry and more particularly to ornaments for the ear such as earrings.
Earrings, which are so popular and common among fashion conscious people, are generally retained to the ear by being clamped to the earlobe, or, in the case of earrings for pierced ears, by passing through a perforation in the earlobe for firm retention. Earrings for pierced ears commonly include a post passing through the perforation in the earlobe with a retaining device attached to the protruding portion of the post behind the earlobe.
Earrings which snap or clamp to the ears or which require a post through the perforation in the earlobe are often extremely uncomfortable and irritable to the wearer. Clamping devices cause great discomfort due to the pressure placed upon the earlobe by the clamp or clip of the earring. A common problem for many clamp-type earrings are that they are painfully tight and squeeze the earlobes. Often such earrings are frequently lost. The whole technique of pierced ears has its own array of disadvantages from the operation itself such as infection, scarring and tearing of the lobe during installation. Piercing type earrings possess other problems such as removal upon pulling the earring once worn as well as the expense and discomfort of the ear-piercing operation. Also, there is the possibility that the earring may come loose and therefore lost.
Further, prior art earrings require that the ornament be permanently affixed to the post or clip. The ornaments for the earring cannot be changed without using jeweler's tools and thus, a jeweler is usually needed to change ornaments on the earrings.
Ear ornamentation in the past has usually been designed and manufactured to be worn on or directly below the earlobe. This fact being partly due to the dictates of fashion and availability or lack of availability of retained devices that would allow alternative positioning of the ornament about the ear.
Several prior art patents including U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,409,369; 2,914,928; 4,282,721; and 4,827,738 disclose an ear ornament which is basically C-shaped and do not use clamps or posts. The C-shaped ear ornament of these prior art patents rest on the top of the ear and extend around the back of the ear with the lower end protruding in front of the earlobe for the suspension of an appropriate ornament. U.S. Pat. No. 2,409,369 discloses a telescoping C-shaped ear ornament which is adjustable to being secured on ears of all sizes. U.S. Pat. No. 2,914,928 discloses an ear ornament with an oscillating ornament support. The C-shaped ear ornament includes an upper and lower loop connected together by a spring biased connection for assuring a snug fit to the ear. U.S. Pat. No. 4,282,721 discloses a C-shaped ear ornament made of a curved rod member having a threaded lower end for threadingly attaching different ornaments. U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,738 discloses a C-shaped ear ornament having coiled bands on each end for supporting jump rings of various ornaments. The C-shaped ear ornament of the above-identified patents rests the upper curvature of the C-shaped ear ornament on the upper helix of the ear with the medial portion of the C-shaped ear ornament supported by the post auricle groove of the ear. U.S. Pat. No. 3,898,868 combines a C-shaped ear ornament with a forehead engaging tiara and U.S. Pat. No. 1,576,372 discloses a C-shaped earring safety guard.
C-shaped ear ornaments have the disadvantage of coming loose from the ear and thus lost. Further, C-shaped ornaments have the further disadvantage of placing pressure on the upper helix and lower earlobe of the ear and thus are not comfortable.
Accordingly, there is a need for resolving the aforementioned problems and deficiencies associated with the prior art earrings for securing ornamentation to and around the ear. The present invention is directed to a solution of these problems and deficiencies.